New research: Soccer better than running for women

New research shows that soccer is better for women's fitness than
running and that women stay with it longer. Photo: Anders Kjærbye

A great report on recent research, published by Science Daily points to the conclusion that soccer is better than running and an overall superior sport for a woman's overall fitness.

A two year study at the University of Copenhagen included both pre- and post-menopausal adult women, and indicates that soccer is a better workout that combines cardio and strength training, and that more women stick with the sport longer.

As listed on the University of Copenhagen web site, the study produced these physiological conclusions:

•Recreational women's soccer players exercise with high heart rates and perform multiple intense actions, such as sprints, jumps, turns, shots and tackles – making soccer an effective integration of cardio-vascular training and strength training, even for women without prior experience with soccer.
•After 16 weeks of 2 weekly 1-hour soccer training sessions, maximum oxygen uptake was improved by 15% and the muscle mass of the legs was elevated by 11%. The number of capillaries per muscle fibre was increased by 18% and the activity of glucose and fat metabolizing enzymes were elevated by 11 and 9%, respectively. The runners also improved maximum oxygen uptake (10%), muscle mass of the legs (8%) but had no change in muscle capillarisation or fat metabolizing enzyme activity.
•Sprinting speed was improved by 12%, intermittent exercise performance was by 37%, and endurance exercise performance by 21%. The endurance and intermittent exercise effects were at least as great for the soccer players as for a comparable running group, and only the soccer group improved sprint performance.
•In summary, football training performed as small-sided drills with 19-47 year old women without prior experience with football was shown to be effective in increasing differential areas of performance throughout a 16-week training period and to cause significant cardiovascular and muscle adaptations including muscle growth.

The study also produced these sociological conclusions:

•Recreational soccer for women is an activity which promotes social interactions, the creation of social capital and networks.
•The project teams differed significantly in what motivated them:
-The soccer players were motivated by the activity per se to a high degree, as well as having fun and being together in the group,
?The runners were much more motivated by the health benefits and wellbeing in general.
•The study shows a significance of the project's organisational framework. Although flexibility is viewed as positive, and reported by the runners as a reason for them being optimistic about finding room for it after the intervention, it showed to be counterproductive in terms of compliance.
-The soccer players have been more successful in continuing their activity than the runners. They now play in a club still together as a team, and some of the runners have actually joined them playing soccer. Only very few runners are still running.
•There are several obstacles to being physically active. To a great degree, the family is seen as constituting a barrier, especially by those participants who have young children.
•Someone to go with is mentioned several times when the football group speaks about how important it is to remain committed to the activity.
•The participants' sports activities have created bridging social capital and they have obtained access to "football capital". Several of the participants indicate that their football participation has affected their relations with family and colleagues and their ability to bridge and to create new acquaintances.

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